A Year Later, Georgiev At Development Camp With Sight Set on NHL

At this time last summer, goaltender Alexandar Georgiev was hoping to impress Rangers brass enough to earn a contract with the organization.
This year, he's hoping to prove he belongs in the NHL all season.
Twelve months ago, Georgiev arrived at development camp as a free agent and played well enough to gain the confidence of Goaltending Coach Benoit Allaire and General Manager Jeff Gorton to lead to a deal with the Blueshirts.

But he returns for his second season with the Rangers with his sights set on earning the backup role behind Henrik Lundqvist.
"I want to be doing 100 percent whatever it is, whether it's development camp or Rangers camp or regular season," Georgiev told reporters on Monday. "I want to play my best game and prove that I belong" in the NHL.
He spent the first four months of last season with Hartford of the American Hockey League before earning a call up to the Rangers in late February. He went 4-4-1 with a 3.15 GAA and a .918 SV% in 10 appearances.
"It helped me a lot to know that I can play at that level and the things I'm successful with," Georgiev said of his stint with the Rangers last year. "It's more about knowing what you can do."
Georgiev credited Allaire with helping him with the mental aspects of the game. He said the coach kept him even-keeled and positive when times expectedly were challenging for a first-year goaltender.
"He helped me a lot with staying positive all the time no matter what the results are," Georgiev said. "Helping me not feel any pressure at all."
Last year's full-time backup Ondrej Pavelec is a free agent, and Gorton said on Monday that he and his staff will explore any available options on the free agent market that opened up Sunday with teams being afforded the chance to talk with free agents before signings can begin on Sunday.
But with that said, Gorton expressed confidence in both Georgiev and fellow Hartford netminder Marek Mazanec, with both being in the running to be New York's No. 2 come October.
"I think we're still trying to figure that one out," Gorton said. "Free agency, we'll go in and see some people and see what the prices are and the availabilities. But at the same time, we do like Mazanec a lot and Georgiev from last year showed a lot. Those are two guys we're looking at as well. We're looking and we'll see what's out there, but we're pretty happy with those two as well."
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Defenseman Joey Keane was watching the NHL Draft on Saturday with his family when his named popped up on the television informing him he'd be selected by the Rangers in the third round.
"Obviously I was very excited," Keane told NYRangers.com on Monday. "I was there with my three brothers and my mom and my dad. It was a special moment. I'm in New York City. I couldn't have asked for a better spot."
Keane described himself as a puck-moving defenseman who is strong in his own zone.
"I like to get in on the offense and also be a tough guy to play against."
Keane, who turns 19 on July 2, was named to the Ontario Hockey League's Third All-Star team last season after a career-year with 12 goals, 32 assists and 44 points with Barrie after a summer of working on that portion of his game.
"I really went hard at it and really wanted to improve my skills," he said. "I was watching some of these other top defensemen and they all have a really good skill set. Some comparable to forwards. I really worked hard on that and I went into the season wanting to be the man."